Retirement benefits

In the past two years, the corporate pension buy-out market has surged with more than $49 billion in transactions, and that trend should continue unabated as large employers try to shift pension debt off their books.

If the DOL's proposal to impose new fiduciary responsibilities on advisers in the retirement space becomes rule, many financial professionals fearing legal liability could abandon that market altogether, and cut off services to low- and middle-income investors, according to FINRA chief Richard Ketchum.

Suffocating under large loans and with little savings, the majority Gen Xers admit being bogged down with uncertainty when planning for retirement.

Conflicting beneficiary designations for 401(k) plan assets can be tough to sort out when a plan participant dies.

May 29 is 529 Day, a national observance that acknowledges the importance of the college savings tool, but 66% of Americans still don’t understand what 529 plans are.

Trust and education are some of the more favorable characteristics sought in retirement plan providers, as well as key drivers to increasing employee engagement. However, that education is lacking, as most employees have a poor understanding of retirement language.

The surge of small 401(k) account balances is the result of a perfect storm — increasing rates of adoption for automatic enrollment combined with the high frequency of job changes observed in today’s mobile workforce.

DC plan sponsors that take pains to secure competitive institutional pricing for their retirement plans’ investment services to maximize retirement savings for active employees may also have an incentive to do so for retirees.

The recent Supreme Court decision in Tibble v. Edison, though largely favorable to plaintiffs, does contain one silver lining for plan sponsors.

If your retirement plan provider hasn’t yet entered the mobile app market, you could be missing out on an important opportunity to educate your 401(k) plan members.

Now in their 24th year, the Benny Awards recognize excellence in the employee benefits/human resources field. Here's how you can nominate a deserving benefits professional.

Employer stock as an investment option in 401(k) accounts is rapidly disappearing – but not yet close to extinction.

To avoid breach of fiduciary duty claims in the future, retirement plan sponsors need to reexamine the investment policy statement for their 401(k) plans to make sure they are doing enough to make sure workers’ retirement funds are invested in the lowest fee and best investments possible.

Commentary: The employer-based retirement plan model has been full of flaws for years, and this ruling is a step in the right direction.

Commentary: Supreme Court decision yields universal agreement that fiduciary duty is an ongoing responsibility, affirms four best practices for plan advisers to follow.

Although legal experts are unanimously proclaiming that SCOTUS' ruling in Tibble will significantly expand 401(k) plan litigation, one expert shares his doubts.

There’s no surprise retirement readiness is a top concern among small employers, with their employees are most at risk – a conversation that took center stage when President Barack Obama unveiled the “MyRA” initiative for employers last year.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision Monday that could have far-reaching implications for how long a retirement plan participant has to sue an employer for breach of fiduciary duty in a 401(k) plan.

The U.S. Supreme Court said 401(k) plans have a duty to monitor the investment options they offer, in a ruling that may help investors press lawsuits over underperforming funds and excessive fees.

A bipartisan bill recently introduced in the House and Senate would require employer-sponsored retirement plans to provide participants with an estimate of how much lifetime income they could expect from their current savings.